That's it - the 2011 series of Ordnance Survey map reading workshops in Cotswolds stores is over. Thank you to everyone who came along to one - we hope that you enjoyed the evening and are now making the most of your new found map reading skills in the great outdoors that Britain has to offer.

For those of you who weren't able to make it along - over the next few weeks we thought we'd take you through what we covered in the workshops. So as they say in that infamous musical - let's start at the very beginning ... it's a very good place to start ...

Which map is right for me?

So you go into your local Cotswolds store and go up to the Ordnance Survey display and are confronted with a choice - do I want the pink map or the orange one? What's the difference? Help ..... Fear not - this is what we're here to talk about today.

The pink map is an OS Landranger Map. It's at 1: 50 000 scale - this basically means that the real world has been shrunk 50 000 times to be the same size as what is on the map. For every 2cm on the map 1km is being shown in the real world. The map covers a larger area that the orange one but doesn't give you as much detail. This is the map that you'd use for days out or planning weekend breaks. If you're a road cyclist this is also the map that you'd use. In total there are 204 maps in this series.

The orange map is an OS Explorer Map. It's at 1: 25 000 scale - so as before it means that the real world has been shrunk 25 000 times to be the same size as the map. For every 4cm on the map 1km is being shown in the real world. The map covers a smaller area than the OS Landranger Map but gives you much more detail. This is the map that you'd use for walking, rambling, horse riding, mountain biking - generally this is the essential map for all outdoor activity. In total there are 403 maps in this series.

Given that we're not usually prone to hot, dry, sunny weather in Great Britain - we have also done a series of encapulated maps that are weather proof. Our range are called Active Maps and all of the OS Explorer Map series and a selection of the OS Landranger series are available in this format.

So there you have it - that takes you through which map is right for you. If you'd like a recap on this - take a look at the short film that Simon King has made for us called Choosing a Map with Simon King.

Next week we'll look at map symbols ...